Fetching Means Attractive, and It Is Not a Joke
To fetch is to go and bring back. The adjective fetching means attractive, an unrelated-sounding sense from an old use of the verb.
To fetch is to go somewhere and bring something back. *Fetching*, meaning attractive, sounds like a different word but is not: an older sense of fetch meant to draw or attract, so a fetching hat is one that draws the eye. The verb also once meant to captivate someone, which is where the modern compliment comes from. In British and Australian usage, *fetch* also means to sell for a price: the painting fetched a million.
- To bring back. *Fetch the paper.*
- To sell for. *It fetched a high price.*
- Fetching — attractive. *A fetching dress.*
- Far-fetched — implausible. *A far-fetched story.*
- Fetch — a ghostly double, dialect. *He saw his own fetch.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | fetch | Fetch it. |
| Past | fetched | He fetched it. |
| Adjective | fetching | A fetching hat. |
| Compound | far-fetched | Far-fetched. |
| Old English | feccan | To bring. |
- Could you fetch a chair?Bringing.
- The vase fetched two thousand pounds.Auction.
- That coat is very fetching.Attractive.
Fetch, bring, take
- Fetch — go there and come back with it
- Bring — carry it towards the speaker
- Take — carry it away from the speaker
- Far-fetched — brought from too far to be believable
- Fetch up — end up somewhere unexpectedly, British informal
Old English *feccan*, a variant of *fetian*, to bring or fetch, from a Germanic root.
Why does fetching mean attractive?
From an older sense of fetch meaning to draw or captivate. A fetching outfit draws the eye.
What is the difference between fetch and bring?
Fetch includes the journey there and back. Bring only means carrying something towards the speaker.